Lucie's First Christmas

Pictures from Christmas Day

 Merry Christmas, baby!

Daddy and Lucie opening presents

Lucie playing with Beatrix Potter toys from English Jean

Lucie loves her musical inchworm from Lee, Derek, Lauren, Paige and Damon!

Lucie really enjoyed unwrapping the packages- more than we expected she would!

Lucie with momma and daddy on Christmas morning opening her present from Nicole and Paul

Lucie having a Christmas cuddle with Auntie Sam

Grandma helping Lucie open some of her presents

Super Bodie!  Best sledding cousin in the whole world :)

Videos from Christmas Day

 

Lucie opening presents on Christmas Day

Lucie and Bodie sledding on Christmas Day

How time flies!

It's hard to believe that tomorrow marks one whole month since our sweet Lucie entered the world.  At times it feels like it's been a year (usually when I am up with her at 2 am), but most of the time it feels like she has just entered our lives.

Since I have been so preoccupied with other things this past month, I will do a quick overview of how things have been going.

Sleep- this is by far the first thing people ask about when they meet Lucie, "how is she sleeping? Is she sleeping?"  She has been an exceptional sleeper this past month.  We've had a few rough nights, but more often than not, Lucie sleeps for about 3.5-4 hours when we first put her down at 10pm. She wakes up to eat and within an hour is back asleep in her crib.  Then momma gets another 2-3 hours of sleep before Lucie wakes us up between 5 and 6am.  I am thankful and say a little prayer every time I get 3 full hours of sleep because I know a lot of new mommas don't have that luxury.

Feeding- this has been the most stressful part of the last month for momma. We initially had some issues with Lucie latching poorly (which we were able to overcome), only to find out that this momma has a really low milk supply. I have been going to see a lactation consultant 1x weekly the last two weeks and with supplementing Lucie on formula as well as breast milk she has been steadily gaining weight, but it still makes me feel terrible that I can't produce enough milk to feed her properly. More important than anything is that Lucie is gaining weight and I totally am on that page, but I am still really hoping that with the work and interventions I might be able to increase my supply and provide her with this important nutrition for the next few months.  It's very disheartening because everything you read in books and on the internet says, "everyone can breastfeed and it's easy and all you need to do is keep breastfeeding to produce more milk". I realize I am a minority, but this general philosophy is so hurtful to people like me who are doing everything they can to make it work and for some unknown reason our body betrays us and will not cooperate.  My advice to the world: Breastfeeding is not always easy for everyone, so don't assume that because it might have been a breeze for you that it is automatically the same for the gal next door.  Let's call this one a work in progress... Lucie is eating well though!  As of 8/24 she weighed 7lbs 12oz which is an improvement.

Growing- Lucie is still rocking her cute newborn clothes, and probably will be for at least the next couple of weeks.  She has so many cute clothes that people have given her in the 0-3 month range for summer that I am really, really hopeful September stays warm so that she will have an opportunity to wear them :)  Lucie is getting very long.  I think they measured her wrong at the hospital because she's about 21 inches long now, and at birth they measured her at 17.5.  3.5 inches in just a month is a lot of growth, so I think that the hospital might have gotten it wrong.

And now, she's awake!  Must go.  I will upload some photos of our little princess soon.

Love to all!  Thanks for your thoughts and prayers- they are all felt and appreciated by our family!

DaddyBlog - Welcoming Lucie Rose!

Wow - That Baby Ticker is a few days off! 

"What shall we do Friday night?"

 There were a few things we came up with. "Let's go out for dinner. After all, it might be one of our last opportunities before Lucie arrives." Then Abbey sent me an email around lunchtime. "It's the Olympics opening ceremony. Let's stay in with pizza." Sold. It'll be nice to see how The Brits show off to the world.When I got home I decided to change into my USA T-shirt to watch the show. I'm a BritAmerican after all.

Three bites into her home made pizza Abbey says, "My friend at work told me that if I wanted to speed things along I should eat pizza." I smiled, and grabbed and took another bite of pizza, just as Danny Boyle's Olympic opening began. Ah, to see James Bond escort Queen Elizabeth to the opening ceremony. How more British can you get? My stomach did somersaults of pride! So did Abbey's and they became more and more frequent.

"I feel different." Anyone who has lived with a woman for any length of time knows this is not news. You just smile sweetly and say, "Really? How so?" In this case, Abbey grabbed her phone and called her sister Sam, playing down the difference. Sam knew this difference all too well.  Her mum was in agreement. Next thing we knew they were both at our door, and by 10:30 PM we was on the road to St. Mary's Hospital.

It was a long night. Hours went by. Hospital staff checked in every few hours to see if there were any signs that things were moving along. Abbey did laps of the hospital hall with Sam hoping it would help. I did a few myself. Are we staying or are we going back home? By 7am, it was decided we would be staying and we were taken to our delivery room.That's not a typo. It was a delivery room just for us! Couches, an extra bed if dad wanted to sleep, reclining chairs. It was bigger than our first apartment!

At this point we had both been up for over 24 hours with little to no sleep between us. Our nurse was a lovely lady called Mattie. Full of beans and ready for anything, Mattie talked Abbey through all of her pains and got her to a place where she could manage. We knew there was still a way to go but what we had been waiting for was going to happen. Today was the day!

Anyone that knows me knows I'm a softy. The right movie, (or John Williams score) and the floodgates open. It's a Middleton thing. A real trigger for me is seeing someone I love in pain and being powerless to help. I knew it would be the way when Abbey went into labour, and I remember crying more than once. Some of those tear triggers make me smile looking back on them. Here, in no particular order, are my favourite Abbey-In-Labour declarations:

"Oh God, Help me!"
"That's it I'm done. I guess she's staying in there!"
"What did you do to me!"

Around 1pm, things weren't moving. Mattie, who was by now one of the family, looked into Abbeys eyes. Maybe it was because of experience, intuition, being a mother herself, or all of the above that she knew we that Abbey couldn't take much more. I'll never forget the tone in her voice when she very gently said, "OK Abbey. Shall we just get this done? I'm off at 3, and we're gonna have a baby before I go."

When it was time to push my eyes were again full of tears. With everyone else coaching, Abbey gave it all she had, and on Saturday July 28th 2012 at 2:08 PM Central Daylight Time (8:08 PM Greenwich Mean Time) Lucie Rose Middleton was born! She weighed in at 6 pounds 15 ounces and was 17 and a half inches long.

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That's all for now. More will follow soon. Thank you to everyone for their love and support. (And forgive the typos! - Updates will contain corrections! :)

Nursery Photos!

It has been a long work in progress, but the nursery is officially done! Without further ado, here are the pics...

Standing in the doorway, this is the view to the left               

and this is the view to the right.

When you step into Lucie's room, directly on your left is the changing station.  We have her diapers, bum cream, wipes, clean onesies and her laundry basket all at hands reach.

Above her changing pad, we hung some tissue paper flowers to occupy and entertain our little Lucie bear!

You can see the door to her closet just beyond.  This girl is already VERY well outfitted!  Now she just needs to hurry up and get here so we can start dressing her up.

To the right of the closet is her crib.  We are hoping this is where she spends many comfortable nights, fast asleep.

The blanket set that inspired the animal theme for her room is pictured here up close.

For those times when Lucie isn't so calmly slumbering- every parent needs a reliable device to monitor their baby.  This is a toy that James has spent a lot of time playing with already, as you might imagine.

Under the window I hung what I am referring to as a book hammock.  She actually has lots of books already, they're just a bit too short to peer over the top of the hammock :)

If you continue turning to your right, you will find the feeding and rocking station.  The monkey on the wall above the small chest of drawers is a nightlight.

Lucie's bureau is just next to that, also already filled with clothes! The animals are 3D pieces of wood, painted in fun colors.

And here we have the full pictures again.  Archie LOVES the rug in Lucie's room.  Anytime the door is open to her room, he is in there lying on that rug.

Many thanks are owed to a lot of different people for their help and contributions to putting together this wonderful space for our little girl.  We'd like to thank (in alphabetical order): Auntie Sam, Grandad Terry and Ali, Grandma Jeanne, Henry's Momma and Daddy and Nanny Ann and Charlie.

Last but not least, we have our fancy pants stroller, including a straggler...

We really hope you enjoyed all of our pictures!  If you couldn't tell, we are so excited and ready for Lucie to arrive!

What a difference a month can make

Today marks the one month mark until our little Lucie's due date!  What to do with this month before her arrival? Here's our list:

• Celebrate our fourth wedding anniversary on July 12
• Celebrate Lucie's arrival at our Baby Shower on July 15
• Finish washing all of Lucie's clothes
• Prepare some meals to stock up the freezer
• Fit the car seat and have it checked at the fire department
• Loads of finishing up of projects at work

We are in a good place in terms of necessary preparations for baby, but there are lots of little things still staring me in the face.  The weather is supposed to be more in the 80s next week than 100s so hopefully that will give me at least a day to do some cooking and get the freezer stocked up and ready to go.

Now obviously I understand that Lucie is not guaranteed to arrive in a month, but it's a fun landmark nonetheless.

Growing Bigger Everyday

Our little gal is already growing up fast. This week she is almost 5 pounds and approximately the same size as a butternut squash.  She has her very own rock concert every night around 7pm where my belly is bouncing all over the place.  Tonight we were out walking Archie and the sun was setting in just the right place that James was able to capture the picture below.  I think it's pretty neat :)

I'm feeling hot, hot, hot!

It has been pretty warm the last few days (90s and even up to 100!). As a result of the increased temps my feet essentially doubled in size. Ugh! This is one of those pregnancy symptoms that I was hoping to avoid but lo and behold- my giant feet have erupted.

What they don't tell you is how painful it can be to walk on these suckers. I step out of bed and it's like pins in the bottom of my feet. Fortunately Archie is a fair weather dog and has zero interest in going for walks when the temps get too hot so my recent ailment has not impacted his walks too greatly.

James has been great and always offering to get me a drink or run to get something I need to avoid being on my feet much at night.  Just spending a few hours each night on the couch with my feet up has given me a whole new appreciation for all the mommas assigned to bedrest.  How hard it must be to sit or lay all day!

The temps are forecast to break next week so I'm sure the swelling will go down then.  My blood pressure has remained great (low even) so Lucie and I are doing well on the couch- eating ice cream, drinking lemonade and watching tv.

Love to all! And stay cool!

Two Months to go!

I can't believe that we only have two more months until Baby Lucie arrives. In eight short weeks she might already be here in our arms.  This seems like a good opportunity to list what we need to accomplish over the next several weeks.

1. Finish assembling crib and purchase mattress
We were a couple of screws short on the crib so they are in the mail and on their way.  Once we have the screws we will be ready to rock n roll!  Perhaps this weekend we'll make a trip to Babies r Us and pick up the mattress so we will be all set to go :)

2. Buy some diapers
I'm starting to feel a little anxious that I don't have any diapers. We've got everything else we need to bring baby home except for diapers.  I doubt we'll have any problem getting through them!

3. Install car seat base
We have our car seat purchased but the base needs to be installed in our car.  The local fire department will check that car seats are installed properly so I want to be sure to have it checked out in plenty of time.

4. Wash clothes
We have been very fortunate to have been gifted a lot of clothes for our little girl already.  Now I just need to decide what to wash in preparation for baby's arrival.

5. Finish nursery (this is a big one!)
Are you waiting to see pics of Little Lucie's new room?  Well me too!  It's coming together but there are still a few projects outstanding:

• Hang book holder
• Purchase and hang curtains/drapes
• Create art for her walls
• Purchase a mirror
• Line her dresser drawers with something fun and colorful
• (***) Insert 100 other things that I am probably forgetting here

As you can see, we have a few things to do.  I guess I had better go work on some of these, huh?

Love to all!

Mover and Shaker

Our little Lucie has been dancing up a storm!  As she grows bigger and stronger everyday, her moves are starting to become bigger and stronger as well.  My whole belly shakes when she wiggles around and I can see her arm or leg move across my belly when she makes a big turn.

James was feeling her move the other day and asked, "Is that you or her?" I replied, "It had better be her otherwise I think I might have a snake in my belly."

We are now officially in our third trimester- hooray!  It's so hard to believe we're 3/4 done baking our baby.  I am very fortunate that it has been such a smooth journey thus far.  It has kind of lulled me into a false sense of security about labor and delivery.  I have this [insane] notion that since everything has been so easy, labor will likely be a walk in the park.  Current Mommies- pick yourselves up from the floor, stop your laughing and please continue to read :)

We have started to take our baby and birthing classes which is exciting and depressing at the same time.  This means that pregnancy is quickly approaching an end and I really have enjoyed it to this point.  James and I both find ourselves saying, "Wow, Lu will be here to do this with us next year!" and we even talked about making a list of "musts" to do before her arrival this summer and neither of us could think of anything [at least not that I can do while pregnant] that we couldn't make work when she arrives.  It's exciting to think of her arrival but I also love our special time together feeling her move and shake in my belly.

Happy Mother's Day!

Today is Mother's Day!  I'm not quite sure how I officially fit into this holiday as a mother-to-be, but I feel very special to be recognized.

As I wrote in the card for my mom this year, you truly cannot imagine how much your mom loves you and how much they have worried and sacrificed for you until you are (or are soon to be) a mom yourself.  I feel so grateful to have so many amazing women in my life to lean on and learn from as I embark on this journey myself in a few short months.

For all of the fabulous, strong, loving and wonderful women in my life- thank you!  You have made an impact on my life and will therefore also make a difference in Lucie's life.  What a lucky girl! Love to all XOXOXO

My furry shadow

Archie has done some pretty funny stuff the last month while I have (apparently) been on a blogging hiatus.  He follows me around the house everywhere, and I do mean everywhere.  I feel prepared for mommyhood because I haven't been to the potty by myself this entire pregnancy thanks to Sir Archibald.

He sits my my lap a lot and sometimes rests his head on my baby belly.  The funny part happens when Lucie gives him a kick or a jab and he feels it.  He has actually been "kicked" and gotten off the couch and moved to sleep on the floor because of it.

We have a baby doll that we are using as a prop to try and teach Archie to not eat the baby but so far it has proven him a total failure.  He has ripped the clothes off the doll, eaten the hat, and on at least two occasions grabbed the doll around the belly and given it a death shake.  Now you might think this would make two new parents nervous- and you would be exactly right!  Obviously it was never the plan for him to stay home and babysit Lucie or anything, but I'd like to think he would not try to eat the socks off her feet.

If fair Archie does not improve his behavior we may have to opt for a private training session.  I feel bad for him because he's been our furbaby the last two years so it makes sense that he'd have a difficult time adjusting to his demotion down the household ladder. I think once Lucie gets here he will love her just as much as mom and dad already do.

Where's Momma?

Boy oh boy, has it been a month since I've posted on here?  Say it ain't so, but it's so.  Started my 26th week today.  Baby is compared to a head of lettuce according to one email update I received.  I have a hard time imagining a whole head of lettuce in my belly.  They also say she will weigh between 1.5 and 2 lbs by the end of the week. It's amazing how quickly this little peanut has turned into a jumbo jar of peanut butter :)

Here's my plan for helping baby Lucie reach the 2 lb mark: gummies!  I am loving anything (and everything) gummy.  We went through a whole package of gummy worms last week in two days- yikes!  I can't take full responsibility because daddy had a few himself but, I will admit to consuming the majority.

Feeling really good still.  Sometimes I even forget I am pregnant.  I am quickly reminded though when I need to chase something out of the mouth of Archie, or catch up to James if we are running late for a movie.  It's like my body is kinda turning into a gummy- everything just moves a little slower than normal and it's definitely getting to a very squidgy stage too.

I went for my 25 week appointment and I measured 26 cm.  Technically speaking that means I am measuring a week ahead, however, as my doctor quickly pointed out it's very early for that to even mean anything.  They also handed over the orange glucose drink- those who are reading this as mommies probably remember this particular beverage.  It was compared to orange Hi-C so I'm not so sure what's so terrible about that?  I think the difficult part is that I have to chug the stuff in five minutes.  That happens in two weeks and then (insert drum roll here....) I start seeing the doctor every two weeks!

Sorry for my extended absence.  I promise I will be better!

Daddy's Girl

Successful trip to the clinic today to see our little "half-baked" gummy bear. Mini Mid is officially a she! She cooperated beautifully with the ultrasound tech and was repeatedly called "perfect"- every mom and dad's dream!

Here are some of the magnificent photos the ultrasound tech provided to us:






We have had a girl's name chosen for awhile and were still debating boy options, but with the discovery of our baby girl we can officially announce that her name will be Lucie! We are still undecided about her middle name.

I honestly was convinced they were going to tell us it was a boy. The ultrasound tech said, "Well, it's a Lucie!" and I was in shock because I figured since we were so set with a name it was bound to be a he. My mom, my friend Emily and James all guessed correctly in thinking baby was a she. A popular resource to check for predicting gender is the Chinese Birth Chart- that was wrong because it said boy.

We are beyond thrilled and above all happy to hear that baby is very healthy.

Prince or Princess- Cast your vote!

On Monday, March 26 at 11am we (hopefully) find out what we're having. I originally thought it was a boy, then I was persuaded into thinking a girl, and then two nights ago I had a very vivid dream it was a boy!

Here is some of my very contradictory evidence leading to my general confusion:

Morning Sickness- they say with a girl morning sickness tends to be bad. I had a few episodes of feeling a little green but never actually was sick so this leads me to believe: BOY

Sweet versus Salty Cravings- they say with a boy cravings tend to be salty things like chips. I haven't had any regular weekly cravings but I tend to prefer sweet things so far so this leads me to believe: GIRL

Carrying baby like a football or basketball- Girls tend to be carried like a football and boys like a basketball. It's still hard to tell at this time but I would say in general I feel like I am carrying Mini Mid like a football so this leads me to believe: GIRL

Food aversion to meat- I haven't had an aversion to meat at all this pregnancy and actually really am craving meat more than usual so this leads me to believe: BOY

I have had dreams about boys and girls so that's no help either. I know it's silly because we'll find out exactly what's in there in just a few days but I can't help but obsess about it right now.

CAST YOUR VOTE! What do you think? Based on the totally subjective, completely non-scientific evidence provided above- what do you think we're having? Feel free to leave a comment (which is now fixed- thanks Ann for letting us know it wasn't working!) with your guess. We'll update the blog next week following our appointment.

Love to all!

I'm Healed!

After 10 long days suffering through a cold I am pleased to report that I am officially healed! Yes, I can hear the groans from here- "OMG- quit whining about a damn cold!". Well I'm whining and the beauty of a blog is that I can whine all I want and moderate which comments I choose to publish (wink, wink ;)

Due to my cold I missed my 18 week picture completely so we jumped right to week 20 on Monday. 20 weeks- Isn't it amazing! So hard to believe we're already halfway finished baking our little gummy bear. I have commented to several people that is seems like a shame that it's taken 20 weeks to start "feeling" pregnant- baby movements and such, but we still have five months to relish in this time with just the two of us (Three of us if you count Archie as part of "us").

I get weekly email updates on baby from two different sources and this week I was told that baby is comparable to the size of a canteloupe by one and a banana by the other. Call me crazy but a banana and a canteloupe are pretty differently sized in my opinion. I'm thinking the banana was meant to compare the length of Mini Mid, but that's kind of frightening already to think of something as long as a banana and round as a canteloupe residing in my belly.

Glad to be back in the saddle again! Happy Spring!

One Sick Momma

I am currently fighting my first, and hopefully ONLY, cold of the season. Ugh, it arrived Thursday night as a minor scratchiness in my throat and by Saturday morning it was a full fledged, wheezing and hacking cold. I spent all day Saturday in my jammies on the couch, Sunday was feeling a little bit better and actually ventured out of the house to the grocery store and for a very short walk with Archie and Monday morning felt worse than I had all weekend.

I really tried to cure this naturally- using saline wash, drinking hot lemonade, getting lots of rest but this cold was not budging and by Monday morning I was desperate. I called the OB nurse to find out what I could take and she suggested some meds so I ran (literally) into Walgreens to find some relief.

I ended up staying home from work today, which I HATE to do (I'd rather use my PTO for something fun, right?!?) but I have still been coughing and sneezing and snotting all over the place that in a hospice facility it really was not safe for our patients and staff to have me there. Ironically enough, our furbaby ended up getting sick today too-twice! Momma and puppy are having a sick day together on the couch :)

This post is really an apology too since this cold has kicked me in the butt, HARD! We have yet to take my 18 week pic, even though today is the start of week 19 (ssshhhh!). I promise we'll get all caught up but for now the blog will have to wait until this momma is back on her feet. Thanks for your understanding and stay tuned- we have some exciting weeks ahead of us!

Week 17 Recap

1. Real Baby Bump!
Tuesday was a very fun morning to wake up with a real bump, courtesy of our little Mini Mid. Sadly, it tends to sort of "deflate" as the day goes on, but mornings are fun because it feels really real.

2. Wore my first maternity pants to work.
After the bump made it's appearance on Tuesday morning I decided it was time to retire my normal pants and just go for my comfy maternity pants. I was barely keeping my "normal" trousers up as it was with my belly band so I knew it was only a matter of time, but a milestone nonetheless.

3. Craving Japanese Food and Kashi Heart to Heart Cereal.
So I woke up with a real hankering today...Hibachi cooked vegetables, sushi (only cooked fish, of course) and fried rice. Clearly I was in the mood for some salt! We went out to dinner tonight with my mom, sister and nephew and I sat down and was starving so of course I ordered: California sushi roll and shumai (steamed dumplings) to share as a starter and shrimp hibachi for dinner. During the week I made my way through an entire box of Heart to Heart cereal eating it not just for breakfast but also for lunch, dinner and snacks as well.

4. Avocado baby.
This week they estimate that the baby is about the size of an avocado. It's still hard to believe that something that big can be living in my belly and I'm not feeling more kicks but this baby found it's way into a well padded room from the beginning ;)

Happy Week 17!

Pop, Pop, Pop!

Whoa, guess who woke up today with a real life baby bump... me! Honestly, the little guy or gal kinda shrunk inward over the course of the day and it wasn't as "bumpy" by the end of the day but it was a really wonderful surprise this morning.

It's not that it wasn't real before, but there was something about seeing that bump this morning that really made it feel real. I also decided that tomorrow will be my first day at work in my maternity pants- comfy all day, here I come!

Baby's First Oscars

Sorry- this post is late :( ...

We are gearing up to celebrate the baby's first viewing of the Academy Awards tomorrow night, through my belly of course. It couldn't be more perfectly timed- baby is starting to hear sounds this week!

So far no feelings from the babe yet on who should win, but we'll see if s/he makes itself known when the time is right.

UPDATE: Mini Mid was lucky for daddy as he guessed the most correct winners tonight!!!

Today's Trip to the Doc

Today was a quick, relatively short trip to the doctor for a check up. She listened to the heartbeat (150s still) and pressed on my belly and announced, "yep, there's definitely something in there!" Blood pressure was great. I was not as thrilled with the increasing number on the scale but Dr. Linda didn't say anything so I, of course, held my tongue too :)

What is exciting is that we scheduled our 20 week ultra sound where we find out if it's going to be a little prince or princess. Monday March 26 at 11:00am is when we learn the news. This is the hard part- watching the days on the calendar slowly tick by...

Glad to have a healthy momma and a healthy baby!

Butterfly Kisses

I think I felt the baby move this week! All of the books and blogs and message boards are telling me that there's no way I did (usually first time moms don't feel it until around 18 weeks) but I really think I did.

It truly felt like there was a butterfly in my belly and the wings brushed up against the inside of my stomach. Not nearly as frightening as I expected and way quicker than I would have hoped, but still very cool!

Every night since I have laid in bed on my back with my eyes closed, concentrating to try and feel it again. Still haven't felt it again but it's really hard for me to not fall asleep as soon as my head hits the pillow.

Tomorrow (Friday the 17th) I have another doctor's appointment. I'm going to take this one solo because she told me apart from the 20 week sonogram to determine if it's a he or she, appointments are going to be pretty quick and routine. I should get to hear the heartbeat again so I'll let you know where we're at in terms of beats per minute this weekend.

Mini Babymoon

James and I took a mini babymoon to Chicago this past weekend. It was great, except, it was one of coldest weekends of the whole season which made it kind of a crummy time to be walking around Chi-town. We made the best of it, bundled up tight and headed for the big city!

Well, let me start at the beginning...

I am the lucky lady who's been very rarely sick at all during this pregnancy. Sadly, Friday night before our trip to Chicago- this mama bear was sick! I blame it on our local Chinese which I will not be revisiting any time soon. Needless to say, I didn't get myself prepared on Friday night and just kept telling myself, "it's fine. Get up early and get ready on Saturday." We got up at 7:30 with the intention to leave the house at 9am and we did okay but it was a real whirlwind for 90 minutes :)

Whirlwind is a great way to characterize it because we had to come back to the house twice because I forgot something that we absolutely needed to make the trip happen. One being- leave the door open for my mom who was en route. Out of habit I locked up like normal and as we're driving out of town realized what I'd done. We started off again and just like the first time, hit the edge of town and I remembered that the hotel had given me specific instructions when I booked the room, "Bring the print out of your Groupon voucher. We cannot redeem it from your phone". So back we went...

50 minutes later, yes 5-0, we were en route. We had allowed ourselves a total of 40 minutes to travel almost 100 miles to pick up the Metra. Not gonna happen. So thankfully we could drive a little further and catch a train just a hour later than planned. It felt great to board the train and know that we were finally on our way. It was then that the anxiety started to hit, "did I lock the car? Did we park in an appropriate spot? Did I leave the lights on? Will our tires be missing when we return?" For those of you who know me- you know I'm a worrier, but I think this baby brain has kicked my anxiety into turbo drive. We kept going though, and I just resigned myself to the fact that we'd deal with whatever we needed to on Sunday.

We got to Chicago and immediately grabbed a cab to head over to Second City to see a play, "Love, Sex and the Second City". I thought this was a parody of Sex and the City but really it was making fun of repeat date offenders. It was funny! We hope to see one of the stand up shows next time we're in Chicago.

After the show we again grabbed a cab to the hotel (did I mention with wind chill it felt like -10 at times?) made our way to the 17th floor and passed out on the bed watching The Big Bang Theory on TBS. Thank God we came to Chicago to do things we could never do at home in WI!?! Ha ha, travel takes a lot out of us old folks.

We finally got up around 7 and decided to grab some dinner. We packed VERY lightly and decided after my illness the night previous that we were not in the mood for dressing up and a fancy schmancy dinner so we walked over to the Cheesecake Factory expecting a 45-60 minute wait. 1hour 45-2 hour wait!?! Yeah, mama bear couldn't wait until 9pm to feed the baby so we walked over to Water Tower Place thinking we could find something there. The concierge recommended Mity Nice.

Mity Nice is mighty nice and we had a delicious meal. It's tucked away behind what has got to be the nicest cafeteria-style mall food court I have ever seen, but it's worth the extra walk and the little bit of wait (only 20 minutes) if you're looking for a great meal and amazing customer service on Michigan Ave.

Sunday we had a chance to visit with my friend Stacey, Rob and their sweet little man Henry! We had a great afternoon visiting with them and playing with Henry (practice makes perfect, ya know) and really wish we lived closer to them. Love you guys!

So I know what you're all thinking, "Abbey, what state was the car in when you got back off the train?" Well, thank you for asking! I am pleased to report that I actually did none of the stupid things I was sure that I did when we exited the vehicle. Started up just fine. No tickets, All four tires still in place. All that worrying for nothing. Isn't that what just annoys you about worrying?

We had a great weekend and owe a huge thanks to my mom for dog sitting the pup while we were napping in Chicago. Here comes week 15 tomorrow, watch out!

Mmmmmm Ice Cream

Call me crazy, but there's a special place in my heart for a Culver's hot fudge sundae. On this day, James and I were sharing a hot fudge sundae sub FOD (FOD= Flavor Of Day which happened to be Brownie Thunder on this particular day). Although he didn't get any of the chocolatey deliciousness it didn't stop him from keeping a close watch.

Week 13 Recap

This was a relatively uneventful week, but there are a couple of interesting things to report.

1. Wore my first item of maternity clothes out of the house.
This was not really even necessary, but the dress is cute so I went for it! I really thought about breaking out the maternity jeans this weekend but for some reason I just couldn't bring myself to do it as there's still no defined bump and my regular jeans still button (although they're getting a bit snug ;)

2. Had several dreams about the baby as a girl.
I am really starting to doubt my feeling that this baby is a boy but trying not to get my hopes up either way because really we're just hoping for a healthy baby. It's funny how you think you want a boy or a girl and then once you find out you're pregnant that all fades away and you're just hoping for ten fingers and ten toes.

3. Told a four year old that we're having a baby.
So, we felt it was time to tell Bodie that we're having a baby. James did a great job! He asked him if he knew what a cousin was and he said, "Yes, I have two cousins." James asked if he'd like another one and Bodie said he had two friends who he would like to be cousins. We said, "Okay, how about a new baby cousin?" He got a big grin on his face and said, "Yeah!" James said, "Well, we're gonna have a baby!" Big smiles and then he dropped the line of the century, "So is it going to be a baby puppy?" Oh boy, we sure hope not... lol

Well, that wraps up week 13. No usual cravings, lots of really crazy dreams and still no defined baby bump. All in good time, all in good time...

Happy Groundhog Day!

Groundhog Day is one of the far less celebrated holidays on the calendar, but tonight James and I attended our first Groundhog Day party! Thanks to my friend Dawn, we engaged in all things Groundhog- groundhog trivia, quote-off of Groundhog Day the movie, and we were made official members of the Punxsatawny Phil Fan Club.

We are lucky enough to have our own local celebri-hog and thankfully he did NOT see his shadow today so that means we are in for an early spring.

So nothing baby-related for you today but everything's moving along just fine. We are halfway through our 13th week which is really hard to believe. This little gummy bear will be here before we know it :)

A Tale of Two Dinners

Last night I had two dinners. Ugh, it makes my belly ache just thinking about it now but at the time it was marvelous.

I first had a very healthy, well balanced vegetable chicken curry with brown rice. Sounds awesome- right? It was good but just okay because I knew once I started cooking it that it wasn't what I would have chosen.

After the first dinner we cleared up and sat down for some Thursday night tv. Around 8:15 pm a commercial came on for Domino's cheesebread. I have never had Domino's cheesebread, and I have only had Domino's one time in my life. But at that moment, My stomach said, "yes" even though my brain said, "ummm, remember that bowl of curry you had 90 minutes ago?". My stomach won. We don't have a Domino's in our town so I went to the freezer and grabbed a frozen pizza and put it in the oven.

James promised me he would have some because I said I wasn't going to cook it if only I was going to eat. Bless him :) Cooked to perfection, I enjoyed it greatly and it soooo hit the spot. James did not have a piece because he has something I lack: self control.

And the cold leftovers made a phenomenal lunch today might I add...

156

What does this number mean to you? To James and I it means that Mini Mid is growing healthy and strong! We got to hear our baby's heartbeat for the first time today and it was amazing! It's funny, after we heard it I was like, "wow, so we are really having a baby, huh?"

This is kind of a strange time because: I'm not really showing yet, I have been a very lucky gal and not had any morning sickness to speak of, and I can't feel anything moving yet so it's funny because the doctor keeps telling me I am pregnant but I don't actually feel pregnant yet.

156 beats per minute- hooray!!! (Stayed tuned for the actual audio footage once we figure out how to convert it).

Cravings

I haven't really felt like I have had too many cravings but James would probably disagree. There are a few things I can clearly identify as an "out of the ordinary need". I have a really hard time saying craving and calling anything a craving- which I find kind of odd. Maybe it's that I don't want to feel like I am totally out of control over my own body- yet...

So anyhoo, back to the "out of the ordinary needs" I have experienced thus far:

Western french dressing- this is a new one because for a few weeks I was vehemently opposed to eating greens, but since about 10 days ago I have enjoyed a salad nearly every day with a generous helping of this tangy, sweet, delicious sauce.

Eggs and breakfast foods- I could eat eggs three meals a day and ya know what I might just do that one of these days! They're so versatile and delicious and super fast to make. We have been enjoying breakfast for dinner at least once a week for the past month or so and it's always been welcomed with open arms. I went through a waffle/pancake thing, then realized it wasn't really the vessel that I wanted it was the syrup. We had some 100% organic maple syrup and it just tasted horrible. I went to the store and staring at all of the bottles realized that what I truly wanted was a bottle of the fake butter flavored corn syrup "poser" that they label as maple syrup. So I bought a small bottle and oh.my.god.- did it hit the spot. There's still half a bottle left so I'm not felling bad about it. Really, I'm not.

Oranges and Orange Juice- I'm not sure I can attribute this to the baby because every winter I go through some sort of Vitamin C withdrawal and start craving the citrus goods then too. But for blogging purposes we're calling this a baby craving!

General Crap- Suddenly out of the blue I will want Pizza Hut even though I may have just finished making a perfectly fine dinner. It tastes like gruel and I know I won't be satisfied until I have a taste of that hand tossed pizza. This happened just tonight. Perfectly good crockpot of BBQ pork waiting at home for us and I just couldn't even bear the thought of eating it.

The thing I never realized before about being pregnant is that you are hungry all of the time, but you can't eat a regular sized meal because then you feel terrible. So it's something to perfect- not getting too hungry but then not eating too much. Both lead to feeling miserable. For now I shall indulge my cravings as they come and embrace this whole experience!

Sold on St. Mary's!

We just finished our OB tour at St. Mary's and to sum it up in one word- WOW! Not sure what it says about James and I that we both left saying, "that's way nicer than most of the hotels we've stayed in."

The delivery area will be under construction starting in a month or so which means we might be REALLY lucky and get one of the new rooms by the time that August rolls around, but to be honest the rooms currently aren't too shabby in my opinion. What I did notice needed an update- the 19" tube tv with a vhs player built in. Would you believe that I brought this up before James?!? We both decided it probably is not something that we're going to be too bothered about considering the purpose for the room.

After the birth and recovery they move you upstairs to a suite. Yes, you read that right: suite. The room has a queen size bed because according to the nurse they are "family oriented". I was thinking it would probably benefit my family and maintain my sanity if I can get my own bed for a few nights- just kidding!

A few of the other perks: the nurse told us how to get James' meals for free through creative ordering, there's a Victor Allen's in the lobby because I am sooo ready for a large caffeinated cuppa joe, they provide a special celebratory steak dinner for James and I, which includes a bottle of champagne- also something I would love to drink the heck out of right now, and they have a nursery staffed 24/7 so that if we need a chance to rest we can be assured there's always someone there to care for our little guy or gal.

I'm really starting to feel excited and on the drive home I had a realization and exclaimed, "oh my God. We are having a real baby and it's gonna be ours and they're gonna expect us to take it home!" James was like, "yeah. duh!" It's a weird thing and I'm aware that we're pregnant but it's still slower to sink in about the other ways out life will be changed- all for the good though. We are both so thrilled and can't wait to meet our little peanut.

Second First Appointment Tomorrow

Yes, you read that correctly- tomorrow is our second first appointment with another OB doctor. We are fortunate to have insurance that allows us to be a bit "choosy" in selecting a care provider so we're trying out another doctor who delivers at a different regional hospital to see how she compares.

This also marks the start of our ninth week of pregnancy! This week we have a little grape- yay! Already I am referring to the baby as a "he" and James is referring to Mini Mid as a "she". The only thing for certain is that one of us will be correct.

I am still feeling really good- minimally nauseous, good appetite, and just a couple of episodic food cravings. I was really kind of hoping for some wacky craving like pickles dipped in peanut butter (wait... maybe that does sound good??? JK) but so far it's just pretty regular stuff- tacos, pineapple, spicy food.

We'll post an update once we have selected our OB- wish us luck!